Along For The Ride
by mcdib
Summary: New WWE Diva Aubree Laurinaitis gets called up to the main roster and starts to fall for a Shield member. With their new relationship, they find new challenges in the workplace and traveling the world together. *rated M for language and possible sexual content*
1. Chapter 1- Welcome to WWE

"Goodbye, WWE Performance Center. Hello to traveling the world!" I said, I just finished saying my goodbyes to my co-NXT superstars and divas. I am Aubree Laurinaitis and I am 20 years old. I had tears in my eyes as I carried my duffle bag out of the WWE Performance Center. We had just finished the NXT taping and there were some fans lingering outside wanting autographs and pictures. I quickly tried to hide my tears, smiling for the fans. I had just been called-up earlier this week, only the trainers, writers at NXT, and the NXT superstars and divas knew about it. Of course there was gossip backstage, saying the only reason I got called up was because I was John Laurinaitis' daughter. I had been training with WWE since I was 18, right after I graduated high school. My only dream in love was to become a diva and I never considered doing anything else.

My flight landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Monday at around 10 a.m. When I walked off the plane into the airport, I immediately found my dad. Although I haven't seen him in a few months due to schedule conflicts, he kept up with my matches online and would send me critiques and praises. He gave me a huge hug, then we went and got my luggage. When we got in the car, he started explaining what would be going on tonight for RAW. As he was talking I was becoming more and more confused… I thought they called me up to wrestle… but instead they were having me valet RyBack.

"What do you mean valeting _him_?"

"Aubs, I know it isn't what you were expecting, but you'll be great!"  
"Dad, I don't want to valet him. He's rude, even backstage," I knew I shouldn't be complaining, but I just couldn't help myself, "I am a _wrestler_! I don't want to be arm candy for some meathead jerk!"

My dad continued driving, just nodding his head occasionally. I knew he wasn't listening and none of my complaining would make a difference, but I was so angry. I had always enjoyed doing promos and backstage segments at NXT, but I would much rather get in the ring and kick some ass.  
"Aubree, we're here," my dad said, "now be humble, grateful, and happy you got picked to be called up to the main roster, understand?" he added sternly.  
I rolled my eyes, "sir, yes, sir," I said sarcastically. I checked my makeup in the mirror and took a deep breath. I could feel butterflies in my chest, nervous for what was going to happen when I walked into the arena.

"When we go in, I'll take you to the locker room, show you where catering is, introduce you to some people, then we will meet with Vince and Ryan," my dad said.  
"Got it," I said as I opened the door. I slid out of the car, and walked to the trunk to receive my bags. I grabbed my suitcase and pulled it along behind me. I was grateful that fans hadn't started congregating outside the gates yet, because I knew my main roster debut was supposed to be a surprise. My dad opened the doors and let me walk in first. My nerves were definitely getting to me, and a wave of doubt washed over me. _You don't deserve this, Aubree, _I thought to myself, _there are other divas in NXT who should be here before you._ All these negative thoughts swirled around my head, but then my father's voice interrupted my thoughts,  
"And here is the diva's locker room," he pointed at the door, "you can go in, put your stuff down, the other girls won't bother it," he said. I did as I was told. I left my stuff on the bench and walked back out. There were no other girls in there yet, which gave me a little relief. I followed my dad to catering, even though I was too nervous to eat.  
"I'm sure Vince is ready to meet you," he said.  
I gulped, "Oh," was all I could say. I had met Vince many times, but never for anything related to business.  
"Well there she is! Miss Aubree, what a pleasure it is to see you again," the familiar male voice caught me by surprise. I turned around and was greeted by a huge, Vince McMahon hug. I instantly felt relieved.  
"Hi, Mr. McMahon!"  
"Please, Aubree, call me Vince!" he smiled. _What a relief,_ I thought to myself. "Now Ryan should be here momentarily, we can wait for him and then begin."  
The next ten minutes felt like three hours. Vince and my father talked about the script for tonight's show, while I sat and pretended to listen. I was suddenly ripped from my thoughts as the office door barged open and a large body plopped next to me.  
"I'm here, Vince. Now you said you had to meet with me? For what?" The voice was husky and deep, it was Ryan.  
"Ryan, meet your new valet, Aubree Laurinaitis," Vince said. When I turn in my chair to shake Ryan's hand I was met by an angry, hostile stare.  
"I don't need a fucking valet," he said.  
I was in shock. Here twenty minutes ago my father was preaching to me to be respectful, then you have a superstar acting like this.  
"Well you have one. Your character is dull. You need something to spice it up and that something is sitting right next to you," Vince said matter-of-factly.  
Ryan looked dumbfounded. "I don't need this bitch, I don't need someone who is only signed because of her father. I don't need this at all!" he slammed his hand on the desk and stood up to leave.  
"Okay, be in gorilla at 9:15. And bring a better attitude." Vince told him before Ryan stormed out of the office. I just sat there dumbfounded.


	2. Chapter 2- The Debut

I was traumatized of what just occurred in the office with Ryan and Vince. I figured most superstars and divas would be arriving soon, which made me even more nervous. Sure, I had met some of them over the years, and others at NXT, but I was anxious to see if they were critical of me in their locker room. I cautiously opened the door to the locker room and saw Trinity, know on TV as Naomi, Nattie, Summer Rae, and The Bella Twins.  
"Aubree, hey!" Summer greeted me. Summer and I had trained together for years at NXT, so we knew each other well. I hugged Summer and said hello to the other girls. Once I got to Nikki and Brie, they seemingly shrugged me off. I had heard rumors of them shutting out new divas before, because of jealousy, but it still stung a bit.  
"So, let me guess your daddy got you the big call up so you can hang with the celebrities now," Nikki taunted.  
I honestly had no idea what to say. I knew I was going to get this a lot, but I wasn't expecting it to be so soon.  
"Nikki, take it easy," Nattie said, coming to the rescue. Nikki instantly backed off, letting it be known she was annoyed that Nattie stepped up.  
"So what're they having you do?" Brie asked, I know she asked out of curiosity, and because she wanted to make sure I wouldn't be taking any of her TV time.  
"I get the pleasure of valeting RyBack," I huffed. Instantly the locker room was full of laughter.

"Girl, I am so sorry you have to deal with that asshole. He only cares about himself, so good luck," Trinity said sympathetically.

Throughout the day the other divas came in and out of the locker room. Mostly introducing themselves to me, none being as hostile as Nikki was. I was beginning to feel more comfortable in the locker room, joking around and making small talk with some of the other divas. AJ Lee, who had been a valet for multiple superstars previously gave me great advice about what to do. We also made small talk about normal girl stuff, finding we had a lot in common.

"You will be great!" AJ assured me. "Let's go grab a bite to eat in catering." I followed her down the hall, in awe of how much respect co-workers and the crew had for her. Practically every superstar said hello to her, then she introduced them to me.

"AUBREE!" I heard a female voice yell, startling me. I turned and saw Emma standing there. Emma had recently made her main roster debut, which made me extremely happy. Emma and I worked many matches in NXT; she was one of my favorite opponents, but also one of my closest friends. "I'm so glad you're finally here!"

"Me too!" I said, giving her a huge hug. We hadn't seen each other in weeks, because of her traveling with the main roster all the time.

"So, ready for your big debut?"

I couldn't help but laugh, "Not really. Ryan is who I have to valet, which is probably the worst case scenario. He didn't seem thrilled when we met earlier." Emma grimaced at that comment. I was sure she had encountered him at some point backstage before.

"Hey, Aubs, I saved you a seat!" I heard AJ call over, "Emma there's a seat for you too!" she added. I smiled. I definitely felt comfortable now.  
_

9:00 came around way quicker than I expected. I had gone to hair and make-up at 7:30, so I was ready, physically at least. I left the locker room and slowly made my way to gorilla. I could hear the crowd from back here, which made my stomach flip.

"You ready for this, kiddo?" my dad said appearing behind me.  
"Not at all, dad. I'm terrified. If this doesn't go over well, I'm screwed."

"You'll be fine sweetheart, trust me. You wouldn't have been called up if anyone on the  
executive team doubted your ability," he told me.

Before I knew it I was standing in gorilla, with TV monitors surrounding us. I looked around and saw Vince, Stephanie, Hunter, some other executive producers, Dolph Ziggler, who was fighting RyBack, and then glaring at me from the other corner, Ryan.

"Hey, I'm Dolph, nice to meet ya!" Dolph extended his hand to me. God, he was dreamy. Suddenly I hear his music start playing, _I'm here to show the world, I'm here to show the world come on, bring it on!_ And before I knew it, he was gone and the crowd erupted. My heart was beating faster and faster as I stepped closer to Ryan, wrapping our arms together. I could tell he tensed up immensely.

"Have fun and good luck!" I heard Stephanie yell right before I heard RyBack's music. I followed Ryan's lead out to the ramp, still holding his arm. I always liked being a heel, I found it more fun, but this was painful. Being a heel was great, but pretending to like RyBack was repulsive to me.

"Making his way to the ring, from Sin City, Las Vegas, and being accompanied to the ring by Aubree, RYBACK!" Justin Robert's voice boomed over the music. I strutted to the ring and stood ringside during the match. I knew there would be questions to come as to why I was accompanying him, how we were connected, etc. As much as the thought of having to be around Ryan bothered me, the feeling I got from that live crowd was indescribable and I wouldn't change it for the world. 


	3. Chapter 3- Believe in the Shield

Once we arrived in gorilla after the match, we were greeted with praise from everyone there. The two superstars put on a good match and apparently I did a good job standing ringside, cheering RyBack on.

"Now, Ryan and Aubree, if you would, right down the hall is the cameramen for Backstage Fallout. That's where Aubree will give her reasoning as to why she is with you now," Hunter explained to us. I nodded and walked behind Ryan.

"Don't let them fool you," Ryan said in a monotone voice. I gave him a confused look. "They always tell beginners they are excellent and fantastic and all that jazz. You're mediocre at best, but hey, I'm not the boss OR am I the father of the perfect little diva, am I? That means my opinion doesn't matter."

"Listen, I don't know why you have a problem with me when you don't even know me. I worked my ass off to get here. I didn't get handed a contract because of my father, I am tired of people saying that to me when it isn't true. You don't get to sit here and hate me because you're bitter for some unknown reason, okay?" I snapped. I was so over people telling me I had no talent and I only had a job because of my father. I thought the pettiness would end at NXT.

"First of all, you don't get to tell me what to do, princess. And second of all, you sure as hell don't want to get on my bad side, understand?" his voice was becoming deeper, which scared me. He glared right into my eyes, his eyes full of disgust with me. How could he hate someone he just met so much? Did he hate my dad? Was he mad because I wasn't as high profile as Paul Heyman? I didn't understand and I probably never would.

We continued walking in silence, and I was suddenly pulled from my thoughts when I heard, "Believe that…. And BELIEVE IN THE SHIELD," I looked up and saw that Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns had just finished a clip for Backstage Fallout. The cameraman yelled cut and they instantly changed into their real life personas again.

"Hey, you're that new chick everyone was talking about earlier. I'm Dean Ambrose," I shook his hand. Fear instantly washed over me. _People were talking about me? What were they saying? Probably spreading rumors or something._ I thought to myself.

"Hey, uh, yeah, hi, yeah, I'm Aubree," I said stuttering. Although they worked at NXT, they were called up to travel with the main roster right around the time I began my training. I didn't even know why I was nervous. It could be because I was surrounded by four men significantly larger than me, one of which I definitely knew hated me, and I just met the other three.

"Seth Rollins, great to meet you," Seth extended his hand. "So, I have to ask if it's true, did Nikki really walk in on you blowing Cena to get you to the roster?"

Immediately my eyes opened as wide as they could and I could feel the blood rushing to my face. "No! Oh my God no not at all! That's what people think?! Shit shit shit shit shit! Fucking shit no!" I wanted to cry. Seth started laughing, then Dean followed. Roman smacked Seth on the back of the head.

"Aubree calm down! He just made that up! He likes to joke around. Seth, that's not fucking cool!" Roman stepped up, reaching his hand out to shake mine. I felt nauseous.

"Thank God. That really wasn't funny, Seth!" I complained. Seth continued his laughter. Roman smacked the back of his head again and eventually Seth's laughter died down.

"Aubree, I'm sorry. I just couldn't resist. We all know how Nikki gets with new divas, so we assume she was pretty hostile towards you, right?" Seth said and I nodded. "She'll come around, hopefully. Give her time."

I rolled my eyes at his comment about Nikki, knowing how true that statement was now. I knew it was a woman's nature to be jealous, but she took it to the extreme.

"Aubree, Ryan, ready to go?" the cameraman called out to us. I was suddenly pulled back to work-mode and I nodded. When I went to say goodbye to Dean, Roman, and Seth, I noticed they were already halfway down the hall.


	4. Chapter 4- Traveling with Roman

That night I rode to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with Emma. Smackdown was being filmed there the next night. We made casual conversation, sang loudly to the radio, and took shifts driving the nearly five-hour drive. We arrived to the hotel around 4:30 and I was exhausted. As we were checking in, I noticed more and more people gathering in the lobby.

"What's going on?" I whispered to her. She nodded her head to the entrance and I saw Roman, Seth, and Dean walking towards the doors, dragging their suitcases behind them. _Damn, Roman looks hot,_ I thought to myself. I tried to shake those thoughts out of my head. I didn't want to think about getting involved with any of the superstars, _especially_ a top star like Roman. The crowd started cheering when they entered and a deep, male voice yelled "BELIEVE IN THE SHIELD!" They stopped for pictures and autographs before checking in at the front desk.

"Hey, Aubree, Emma," Roman said once they began walking towards us. Suddenly the crowd's attention was on us. The swarm made its way towards us, suddenly markers and paper being shoved at us. I signed the stuff, although I'm sure half the people had no idea who I was, but since Roman Reigns knew me, apparently that mattered.

Once the crowd died down, the five of us boarded the elevator. Emma and I were on the 9th floor, while the boys were on the 8th. "You guys should come work out with us tomorrow," Seth said.

Emma glanced at me and I smiled. "Sure! We'd love too!" she answered for the both of us. The boys said goodbye as the elevator doors opened at the 8th floor.

"We'll probably go at 11:30! We'll meet you in the lobby!" Seth called out, just as the elevator doors came to a close.

That's how we operated over the next couple weeks. After RAW we would usually drive an hour or so, then all stop for a meal, then continue on to the hotel, wake up and work out with them and continue with our day. House shows were different though. Since there were two different circuits of shows Friday through Sunday, Emma and I often got split up. The first week I felt like a lost puppy, luckily Nattie and Summer let me ride and room with them. The Shield seemed to alternate, one weekend they would work the SmackDown house shows, then the next week work RAW. The first week they were with RAW, while I was with SmackDown. It may sound crazy, but I actually really missed them, especially Roman.

The next week they were on the SmackDown circuit, which thrilled me.

"Hey, who are you riding with this weekend?" Roman asked Friday when we met up at the arena once we landed and were both at the arena.

"Probably Nattie again," I told him.

"Oh.. Never mind," he said, turning his attention back to his plate of food.

"Why?"

"I.. Well Swagger isn't working this weekend, and Cesaro asked us to ride with him, but three big dudes in a tiny car, yeah, doesn't sound like much fun. So, I was wondering if you'd want to ride with me?" he said, adding a cheesy-grin.

I couldn't help but smile, "Of course, Roman." I had no idea if he had any feelings towards me or not, but getting to travel in the same car as him sounded like a blast. After we finished eating I rushed back to the diva's locker room to get ready for the show. I grabbed my phone and text Emma.

"_Hey Em, guess what!" _I typed quickly.

_ "What?!"_ she replied almost instantly.

_ "Roman and I are traveling together this weekend!" _Emma knew about my crush on him, she got me to admit to it once night on the road.

"_;)"_ was all Emma typed back. I laughed out loud, then deleted the messages. I would be mortified if somehow another diva got ahold of my phone and read those messages.

"So, what are you craving tonight?" Roman asked about an hour into the trip. Being on the road all the time, in different cities all the time, the options were endless. Roman and I had talked basically the whole time in the car, which I was thankful for. I hate awkward silence.

"We could just take the next exit and pick when we get there," I suggested.

"Sounds good!" he said.

It was not a good idea. We took the exit and saw a McDonalds, a gas station, Arbys, and a sketchy-looking pizza shop. We filled the car's gas tank up, then decided on McDonalds. Luckily since it was pushing midnight, there were not many people in there. Nobody recognized us, so we ate quickly, then went back on the road. I offered to drive, but Roman told me not to worry about it. One thing that I liked about being around Roman was that I felt safe. I felt like nobody would harass me, or try to steal my purse late at night if I was around a 6'3, tattooed Samoan male. It may sound crazy, but I just felt like I could relax around him.

This time when we got back in the car, there was awkward silence. I fiddled with the radio stations until we could find one that wasn't fuzzy. Timber by Kesha and PitBull was on. He was tapping the steering wheel to the beat, while I hummed along. Once that song ended, we talked about storylines and work-related stuff. Before I knew it we were pulling up to the hotel. Luckily for us there were only about ten fans waiting in the lobby. I saw them through the window as we got closer to the door. The closer we got, the more they all looked at each other and talked.

A teenage girl, probably fifteen or so, ran up to Roman immediately. "Is Aubree your girlfriend?!" she asked him.

I could see him instantly tense up. "Oh no, Aubree just needed a ride from the show tonight to here," he said to her.

I felt my heart tighten in my chest, feeling embarrassed. I wanted to yell out, "That's not true! You were the one who needed a person to ride with you!" But I held back, I didn't want him, or anyone around, to see how bad that stung. I couldn't believe he didn't even refer to us as friends.

After all the fans were satisfied, we went to the check in desk. I tried getting a room with a single bed, only for myself, but there was only one room left open with two double sized beds. I glanced at Roman, "I'm sure there's another hotel in town," I told him.

"No, we'll take this one. The arena is right next door, and there is a gym half a block down, this one works." He said.

We split the cost and went to the room. As soon as we got to the room, I went straight to the bathroom to take my makeup off and brush my teeth. After I was finished I changed into a tank top and shorts and crawled under the covers. Roman had ESPN on, watching SportsCenter intently. At a commercial he tried striking up a conversation, but I didn't feel like talking. I answered his questions in 'yes' and 'no' answers, which I knew was bothering him.

"Can I ask what's bothering you?" he rolled over on his bed, facing me.

"Nothing is bothering me. Why would anything be bothering me?"

"I don't know, in the car you were completely fine, but as soon as we hit the lobby, your mood changed,"

"Did it? I didn't even notice," I said nonchalantly.

"Aubree, come on, talk to me,"

"Maybe I don't want to talk, Roman, have you ever thought of that? And why the hell would I talk to someone who isn't even my friend?" I snapped.

A confused look washed over his face, then it hit him. "Is this about what I said to the fan downstairs?" I nodded. "Aubree, no! If I would've said that we are just friends, she would of thought that we were dating, then the whole Twitter and Tumblr world would have been spreading it like wildfire," he finished.

I felt like an idiot. I got so pissed over nothing. I knew Roman was my friend, but I read way too much into it. I knew it had to have been my emotions because I had a crush on him.

"And I mean, I do think I'm starting to fall for you," he said, before turning the television off and rolling over on his other shoulder.


	5. Chapter 5- Feelings Revealed

I laid in the bed staring at the ceiling. 2:30 a.m. passed, 3:00, 4:30, I could not shake what Roman had said. He fell asleep quickly after, but I could not fall asleep. I should've said something. I should've told him that I had feelings for him, but no why in the hell would I do something that makes sense? I wanted to wake him up, kiss him maybe. I began tossing and turning, trying to find a comfortable position. The clock hit 5:00, I was beyond frustrated. I tried listening to Roman's breathing from across the room, hoping if I focused long enough I would just fall asleep, but that didn't work. I quietly got out of bed and slid on my boots. I took the room key and my wallet. I walked to the elevator and went to the first floor. I found a vending machine and bought a bag of Doritos. I went back to the room and started eating the chips as quietly as possible. I pulled my iPad out and opened my Netflix app and turned on Gossip Girl.

"Hey, Aubs, wake up it's noon," I felt Roman gently shaking my shoulder. I pulled the blanket over my head and groaned. He quickly pulled it down and I heard him grab the empty bag of chips and take them to the garbage. "Come on, seriously," he said, his voice half annoyed and half teasing me. I shifted around and sat up.

"Shit, I'm exhausted," I said, rubbing my eyes and stretching.

"What time did you go to bed?"

"I don't know, like 5:30 or 6, I'm not positive," I shrugged.

"What were you doing?"

"Just couldn't sleep," I wasn't sure if I was being short with my answers because I was tired or felt the awkward tension between us. I hoped he didn't think I was just a bitch. He dropped the conversation and put on his tennis shoes.

"Are you coming to the gym? I'm meeting the guys in twenty minutes."

I nodded and stood up. After I finished getting ready, we walked to the elevator in complete silence. I fiddled with my phone while he stared at the ceiling. The ride to the lobby was the longest minute of my life. After the final ding, we walked out, not making eye contact, but as soon as we saw Dean, Antonio, and Seth, he was the most talkative I've ever seen him.

After the workout, we went back to the hotel. He let me shower first, while he packed his stuff up, and when I finished, he jumped in the shower. Once I heard the water running and him humming a beat, I hurried and called Emma.

"Emma, guess what the hell happened last night!" I whisper shouted in the phone.

"Let me guess, you guys hooked up, and then he asked for your hand in marriage?" she said, laughing.

"Not at all," I laughed, "But he told me he liked me."

"Aubree that's great!" she squealed.

"But…"

"Oh no. There's a but?" she sighed.

"I didn't say anything back…"

"Aubree what the hell?! You like him too!"

Before I could reply I heard the water kick off, "I have to go!" I whispered, "Bye!" I hung up. She was right. I was an idiot. Why wouldn't I have just told him that I liked him too? I heard the bathroom door open and Roman walked out with a towel around his waist. _God damnit, _I thought. _Aubree, would you just tell him already?_

"Hey Ro, can we talk for a minute?" I asked nervously.

"Sure!" he said, then his phone rang. He held his finger up, indicating it would only be a minute. I heard him mumbling, saying yes sir, no sir. I watched him as he paced back in forth in front of the beds, trying to hear who was on the other end. Being nosey was not one of my best traits… When he finally hung up he looked worried. "That was Hunter, I have to go the arena right now," he said fumbling around the room, grabbing all his stuff.

"I'll go with you," I said, jumping up to gather my belongings as well. We rushed around the room in silence, making sure we had everything. We checked out of the hotel and walked to the car. "Are you in trouble?" I asked, nervously.

"I'm not really sure. He just asked if I was busy at the moment, then told me to get to the arena as soon as possible." I could tell he was trying to hide the fact he was nervous. He was steering the car with his left hand, with his right hand resting on the control stick. I reached over and grabbed his hand and gave it a light squeeze. He glanced at me and gave me a half smile, and I smiled back.

Luckily we were worried about nothing. In fact, Roman's meeting with Hunter was a good meeting. Hunter wanted to discuss with Roman about the upcoming split of The Shield, Roman's face turn, and his future push. He had already began showing signs of becoming a face on television, and in his first Royal Rumble match he broke Kane's elimination record. From what Roman told me about the meeting, they had major future plans for him.

"So, there was something you wanted to talk about before Hunter called earlier, wasn't there?" he asked me while we were sitting in a random section of seats in the arena. Due to the meeting, we were the first ones at the arena. I had my feet on the seat in front of me, turned slightly facing him.

I felt my heart begin to race, "Uhm, yeah actually. I wanted to tell you that…" I could feel my face getting red as he stared at me intently. "I really like you.. I don't know why I didn't say anything last night. You caught me off guard, it was so unexpected. I don't know, but I really do like you." I felt myself blushing. I glanced up at him and he was smiling.

"Well good, because if we're being honest I was terrified. When you didn't answer I thought I scared you off completely," he said, chuckling softly. I could see his cheeks turning a light shade of red and I laughed. He was adorable when he was embarrassed. "Well, Miss Aubree, how would you like to travel with me regularly?"


	6. Chapter 6- Backstage Fallout

Traveling with Roman on Saturday night and Sunday night was great. Monday Night Raw was in Knoxville, Tennessee tonight. On Sunday nights the whole roster usually ends up at the same hotel, which means Emma and I were finally reunited after this weekend. She text me as soon as she checked in and I immediately went and found her room.

"What happened this weekend?! Spill all the details!" she said, as soon as she opened the door. I explained everything to her about Roman and I. She smiled and squealed throughout the whole story, which made me talk even faster. "I can't believe you two are official now!"

"Me either!"  
"So what's going to happen tonight when he's back with his boys tonight?" she asked.  
"I have no idea… He asked me to travel with him all the time, but I don't really want to travel with Seth and Dean too, you know? Nothing against them, but I don't want to be the only girl with those three…" I said. I saw the instant look change on Emma's face. She looked sad, even betrayed. I just realized that I had agreed to travel with Roman all the time, forgetting about my best friend.

After Emma and I were done talking, I walked back to the room I was sharing with Roman. It was almost time to go workout, but I wanted to talk to him before. I walked through the door and he was zipping up his jacket.

"Hey, I know it's almost time to go, but can we talk real quick?" I asked him. When he nodded I continued, "So what are you doing for travel tonight?"

"Oh… Well we can go together if you want," he said, hesitantly.  
"If you wanna go with the boys that's fine, I just wanted to know so I could let Emma know,"

"It's up to you, I don't care."  
"I don't care either." There was an awkward silence in the room, we just stared at each other. His phone beeped and the eye contact was broken.  
"It was Seth, they're heading to the gym now." He said, grabbing his keys. I followed him out the door. When we got to the lobby there was a sea of fans. By now I knew all of the fans wanted to see Roman when it was the two of us, so I let him walk in front while trailing behind him. Some of the fans recognized me and asked for pictures, which I happily obliged to.

We finally all made it through the lobby and were headed to the gym. Gold's Gym was three blocks down the road, and it was the longest walk of my life. Roman, Dean, and Seth talked the entire way, completely excluding me from the conversation as if I wasn't even there. I scrolled through my Twitter app while walking behind them, eventually tuning out what they were talking about. We all filed into the gym and went our separate ways. I always started out on the elliptical, while Roman went straight to weights. The gym was pretty empty, which was always a plus. We all finished our workouts in peace and luckily without any interruptions.

When we all left the gym, I didn't even bother taking my headphones off. I walked behind them again, not knowing if we were stopping somewhere to get food, or just going back to the hotel. I was texting Emma while walking, letting her know that I would be riding with her tonight.

We ended up getting food, then walking back to the hotel. While we were eating, I was still excluded I felt. I tried getting involved in the conversation, but as soon as I would, they would already be on the next topic. I was getting frustrated, so I didn't wait for them to finish eating before excusing myself and going back to the hotel. I was already showered and mostly done with makeup before Roman got back to the room.  
He stepped over me to set his stuff on his bed, then sat next to me on the floor in front of the mirror.  
"What's wrong?" he asked me.  
"What do you mean?"  
"You totally bailed during lunch and you hardly said two words the whole time we were out," he said.  
"Not true. I tried talking. Every time I would talk, the subject would get changed. And I figured it would be easier if I was already done getting ready when you got back,"  
"I didn't mean for you to feel left out," he said, kissing my cheek, "I just haven't hung out with them in a while."  
"But you saw them every day this weekend, just didn't travel with them?" I questioned.  
"Yeah, it's just different. We're used to seeing each other every day, basically all day. I'm sorry you felt left out. I won't let it happen again," he said, kissing my cheek before getting up and going to shower.

Backstage at RAW tension was running high. Vince and Hunter were clashing on what script they wanted to go with and neither would compromise on what they wanted. Everyone backstage was really quiet all day, walking on eggshells. Writers were frantically trying to figure something out, with the clock quickly ticking away to 7:30. Finally at 6:45, everything was finalized. Tonight RyBack was fighting Justin Gabriel for the Superstars taping. Things still weren't getting better between Ryan and I backstage, so I felt like they were suffering on screen. Although we never got called in for a meeting about it, I was extra worried about it tonight because of all the tension backstage with Vince and Hunter.

At 7:15 I decided to go find Ryan and talk to him before the show. He obviously wasn't thrilled about seeing me, but I felt this talk was necessary.  
"Ryan, can you please try to act like you like me a little bit more tonight? I just feel like-"  
But he interrupted me. "Listen, I don't want this bullshit. I don't like you. I don't need you. Hopefully everyone is beginning to see that you aren't worth the time or money that's being invested in you," I stared at him stunned as he was saying this. "You're useless. You don't make my character more interesting. I'm just waiting till you fucking get fired," he said. I was speechless. I felt like crying right there. "Oh, and just so you know, even though tensions are high in gorilla right now, they don't give two fucks about what you do out there. This is a taping for Superstars. They won't even be paying attention," he said, walking away bumping his shoulder into mine as he went.

After Ryan had walked away I leaned against the wall and began to cry. At first it was just a silent cry, tears streaming down my face, but it didn't take long for full sobs to take over. Was I really that useless? Was I here because of who my dad was? Everything was becoming so mixed up in my head, I didn't even want to go out to the ring. I glanced at the clock on the wall and saw it said 7:30. Luckily there was a dark match that wasn't being filmed before Ryan's match. I stood myself up and wiped away the tears and walked to gorilla.

"What the hell happened to you!?" Vince screamed as soon as I stepped into the curtained area.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Your face! Why is there makeup all down your face?!" His screams getting louder. Then I heard a chuckle come from the corner and saw it was Ryan.  
"Shit! Vince I'm so sorry." I said, frantically reaching for a tissue to try and fix it. Luckily Stephanie was there to help me. By the time the dark match was over we had everything fixed up and I was ready to go out to the ring with Ryan.

Lucky for me, the match was over in less than five minutes. After Ryan and I celebrated the win in the ring and Justin Gabriel had made his way backstage, we finally walked up the ramp and back to gorilla. When we got there we were greeted by a very angry Vince, Hunter, and my dad, who was fuming.  
"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM, RYAN?" my dad immediately in his face. Ryan looked confused, while I was just scared. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"  
Ryan remained silent, which was pissing my dad off more. His face was getting redder and redder, when Hunter stepped in between them. "John, step back. Now Ryan, how do you think you can get away with treating Aubree like this? We don't tolerate this behavior. Her call-up had nothing to with her father, so from this point on, your push is no longer happening." Hunter said, his voice stern, but not yelling.  
Ryan didn't say anything, but realized nobody else was going to say anything so he walked out. I hesitantly walked out behind him.  
"Do you see what you fucking did?!" he yelled at me once we got away from gorilla.  
"I didn't do anything, you did."  
"No! You're ruining everything!" he screamed at me. Frankly, I thought he was being overdramatic, but I just let him go on his rant without interrupting him. "I hate you. I'd watch your fucking back," he said, looking straight in my eyes before walking away.


	7. Chapter 7- From Bad to Worse

I wish I could say the rest of the night got better, but that'd be a lie. After the incident with Ryan, I walked back to the locker room, just wanting to change into yoga pants and a t-shirt, but when I got to the locker room, I found Nikki going through my bags with my stuff surrounding her on the floor.  
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!" I screamed at her.  
She whipped around, looking like a deer in headlights, "I..uh-I just,"  
"Save it, Nikki. What the fuck were you doing in my bag?" I asked her, then noticed my phone in her hand. Fury immediately took over. I darted across the room, grabbing my phone from her and shoving her into the lockers. "TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE DOING!"  
She looked at me with huge eyes, "We wanted to know if it was true."  
"IF WHAT WAS TRUE?!"  
"That you're dating Roman."  
Instantly I got even more pissed, seeing my belongings all over the floor. "SO YOU SEARCH MY STUFF RATHER THAN JUST ASKING ME TO MY FACE?"  
"Well, I know you don't really like me, so I figured you wouldn't tell me."  
I glanced at the floor, seeing my clothes all spread out. I reached down and picked up my shirt and saw a pair of scissors laying on the floor, buried underneath them. Nikki looked around, even though it was only us in the locker room. I realized there were cuts all over my shirt. When I picked up my yoga pants, I found the same thing. All of my clothes had cuts all through them. I was in shock. Tears were forming in my eyes. All the clothes I had packed for this week were ruined.  
"I can't believe you did this," was all I could say before I had to turn around and leave the locker room with tears in my eyes.  
I walked to the area where the merchandise is stored backstage and began to look through the boxes. No way in hell would I be seen wearing a shirt in support of John Cena, Nikki's boyfriend. I kept searching through the boxes and I finally found a Shield one. I went and found Emma, sitting in catering with Summer.  
"Hey, do either of you have a pair of leggings or sweats I could borrow? Nikki destroyed all of my stuff, so I don't have anything to wear. I'll buy you a new pair if I can just borrow a pair," I said, slumping into a chair at their table.  
"Yeah of course I have a pair!" Emma said. Summer finished her yogurt and we walked back to the locker room. Nikki was gone, luckily, so it was just the three of us. I slid The Shield's shirt on, then taking the leggings from Emma. When the door to the locker room opened, I jumped. Luckily it was just AJ and Tamina, who had a match for Superstars after RyBack's. I had honestly never felt so out of place somewhere. AJ and Tamina made small talk with me, but I still didn't feel like I belonged there.  
"Oh la-la, wearing The Shield's shirt? Which one is it you're trying to impress?" AJ smirked, saying it in a jokingly manner.  
"Well… I mean… I'm kinda…" I tried to find the right words to say.  
"She's dating Roman. AJ where the hell have you been? EVERYONE has been talking about it all day!" Tamina said. I let out a chuckle  
AJ's jaw fell open, "WHAT?! HOW THE HELL DID I MISS THAT?" She yelled. I shrugged. "Coming from someone dating another superstar, here's some advice," I instantly got nervous when she said that, "Don't let the backstage drama get to you. People will try to start stuff to shake you up, don't let it," I nodded, "Try to keep it as low-key as possible. Once it leaks and gets on social media, you'll probably end up with death threats on twitter and stuff, but ignore it. If you're happy, you're happy. Don't get caught up with the petty shit and you'll be fine."  
I appreciated AJ's honesty, but all her comments worried me. Death threats? Backstage drama? I knew AJ took a lot of slack for her relationship with CM Punk, people truly believed she was the longest reigning diva's champion because of her relationship status. The last thing I wanted was people saying that I was here cause of my dad and got to stay because of my boyfriend. Maybe I shouldn't have gotten in a relationship so soon.  
"Thanks AJ, I really appreciate all of that."  
"Anytime girl! Anytime you want to talk, I'm here for you. There's a good chance that I've experienced all the ups and downs of the relationship life backstage, so I'll always be here for you," she said. She was changing into another one of her authentic t-shirts for her match later on in the night. If there was one diva I wished to have a career like, it was most definitely AJ. Talented, respected, and most of all entertaining.

Around 9:40, I was headed towards catering to see what sweets they had. It seemed as if everyone was staring at me. I saw Nikki, Cameron, Brie, and Aksana sitting at a table in the corner laughing, but when they saw me they instantly stopped. I got extremely uncomfortable walking across the room, trying to focus on the table of cupcakes, cookies, and chocolate. The walk seemed like an hour long, but it was under a minute.

When I was reaching down for a sugar cookie, I felt two arms wrap around me and a face pressed against my neck. "Hey baby, that's a pretty nice shirt you have on," Roman's deep voice whispered in my ear.  
I tried squirming out of his grip, "Please stop, not here." He looked confused. "This is too public."  
"I don't care, everyone knows already, it's not a shocker," he said kissing my cheek.  
"Stop, seriously. I'll explain everything. Just not in here."  
He still looked confused, even defeated, but he released me and we walked down the hall. I explained everything from tonight to him, from the incidents with Ryan, to Nikki destroying my stuff, and then the talk I had with AJ. He sat on the floor with me, listening to me go on and on patiently, twisting my long hair with his fingers.  
When I finished he looked right in my eyes. We stared at each other for a few moments before he said, "Don't let those things bother you. We're together. It's you and me. Nobody else matters. As for Ryan, I'll talk to him. For Nikki, ignore her, she's irrelevant. She has no room to talk about people getting where they are, look who she's dating and where she is. You're a great diva, great valet, and a great person. Anyone who can't see those things is missing out," he said before giving me a kiss.


	8. Chapter 8- The Break In

It has been almost a month since the huge blowout backstage occurred with Ryan, which also means it's been almost a month since I have been on television. They really weren't kidding when they said he was no longer getting a push. He was in a shit load of trouble. I was getting frustrated as well. I still had to travel every night and wasn't even getting used. The past few weeks I had also been going to NXT to do television tapings on my off days. I felt beyond stressed out and on the verge of a breakdown. Things were difficult with Roman, due to our scheduling conflict. We hardly saw each other. He was extremely busy with media interviews and other appearances, while I was always on the road. It seemed like lately we were always on opposite house show circuits, which was even worse. In the locker rooms, both at NXT and the main roster, I felt like an outsider. Sure, I had Emma and AJ on the main roster and I did have friends at NXT, I just felt like I didn't belong anywhere.  
On a Wednesday night after a long day of training and an NXT taping, I was approaching my apartment, anxious to just heat up Ramen Noodles and lay on my couch all night, watching television. When I approached the door, something seemed strange. I slowly put the key in the door, quietly pushing it open. I saw the light from the kitchen on, which I knew was off when I left this morning. I immediately reached for the umbrella standing up against the wall by the door and had my phone grasped in the other hand. My heart was beating out of my chest as I approached the kitchen.  
"WHOEVER YOU ARE YOU HAVE TWO SECONDS TO GET OUT BEFORE I CALL THE POLICE!" I screamed, pulling the umbrella back like a baseball bat. I turned the corner to see Roman standing next to the oven with a grin on his face.  
"Surprise baby," he said smiling.  
"Roman fucking Reigns, I almost called the fucking police. You scared the shit out of me!" I said, my heart finally going back to its normal rate. "I thought you were a burglar!"

All he could do was laugh. He would not stop laughing no matter how many times I stomped my foot and pouted. "How the hell did you get in anyways? Aren't you supposed to be in Minneapolis for a radio show?" I had so many questions.

"I was supposed to… but they cancelled last night, so I figured I would fly down here and surprise you. As for me getting in… let's just say Emma was persuaded very easily."

Of course it was Emma. She had a key from when she stayed with me a few months ago before she was called up to the main roster and she never gave her key back. "How did you persuade her?"

"Well I know she has a crush on Mr. Rollins… So, after RAW next week we are all going to travel together. Dean is going to go with Antonio that night and we'll have a little double date." He said, then turning his attention back to the stove. I walked up behind him and saw he was cooking spaghetti, which was one of my favorite meals. "I wasn't expecting you to be back so soon, this was going to be a lot more romantic, I had candles and everything planned, but someone had to come back early," he said, ending the sentence in a mocking tone.

"I can leave and come back if it makes you feel better," I said, giggling at him. I found it incredibly sweet that he was going through all of this just for me.

"Nah, I guess you can stick around, that's fine," he said with his back turned towards me.  
_

I was pleasantly surprised with how good of a cook Roman was. The spaghetti was amazing. Everything about the evening was perfect. I had completely forgotten about all the stress I had about work during the evening with Roman. It had been such a long time since it was only him and I, it was refreshing to just be able to sit and talk about everything except work.

"I'll clean up since you did all the hard work," I said when we were both finished eating. He offered to help, but I didn't want him to. I washed all the dishes and placed them on the counter to dry. We both walked to the living room couch and fell onto it with a loud thump. We flipped through the channels on TV and settled for Girl Code on MTV. Roman asked if everything they said was true. I told him most of the stuff was stuff every girl could relate to, which made him more interested. He had his arm wrapped around my shoulder tightly, making me feel completely safe. He leaned down and kissed the top of my head and I looked up at him and smiled.

"I'm getting tired," I told him, standing up to walk to my bedroom. He stood up behind me and followed me.

"It is okay that I stay tonight, right?" he asked me.

"Absolutely!" I walked over to kiss him. He grabbed my face and intensified the kiss. He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. Our tongues battled for dominance, which he ended up winning. I could feel us traveling, then him placing me on my bed. He pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his tanned and toned body.

I suddenly felt uncomfortable because I was in the leggings and t-shirt I put on after the NXT show, with a sports bra and boy-short underwear on underneath. Roman was kissing around my jawline and neck. He found my sweet spot and I let out a soft moan. When he heard me, he intensified the kissing. I tugged at his hair, trying to contain myself.

Before I knew it my top and bra were off revealing my bare chest to him. Before I could even feel self-conscious about being naked in front of him, he was flicking my nipple with his tongue. Soon enough both of our pants were off. The sweet, romantic Roman from earlier was gone and he had transformed into something I had never seen before. His eyes were glazed over with lust. He was tossing me around the bed like a ragdoll.

He threw me down on my back again and hovered over me. "You ready for this, baby?" he asked, teasing me with his erection. I nodded. "Nope. Say it. Beg for it."

I felt my cheeks getting red, I felt so uncomfortable, but I could tell he was getting impatient. "BEG FOR IT!" he yelled.

"Please Roman, please just fuck me!" I yelled. And I got what I asked for. Roman pounded into me, without giving me time to adjust to his size. The pain turned into pleasure. The most pleasure I have ever had in my entire life. I was raking my nails down his back, screaming. He kept kissing me, trying to muffle my screams and moans, but it didn't work.

He flipped us over, "ride me, baby," he demanded. I bounced on him, while he laid on his back moaning. I kept changing speeds, going from fast to really slow, to faster, back and forth. He was biting his lip and moaning beneath me. I scratched up and down his tattoo on his chest, while using it for balancing.

"Roman, god, I'm-uh-fuckin close!" I yelled. Hearing those words flipped a switch in him. He met me thrust for thrust, harder and harder. We both came at the same time, collapsing on the sheets right after.

I laid still on my back, staring at the ceiling trying to catch my breath. I knew I was definitely going to be sore the next day, that was a given. The Roman that I just saw in bed worried me, dominating and controlling, although it turned me on, I was afraid that I would begin to see these traits in him daily. I tried not to think too much into it because it was normal for people to have a freaky side come out during sex.

Before I could think too much, I felt his arm drape over me, "Aubree…" I turned my head over my shoulder, looking into his eyes, "I love you," he said kissing my cheek.

I was in absolute shock. I turned over onto my other side so I was face to face with him. "I love you too, Roman." I kissed him. "But, I really have to go shower because I can't sleep like this," I giggled at ran off to the shower.


	9. Chapter 9- The Double Date

Roman kept his promise to Emma about the double date with Seth. All day long, Emma kept asking me questions about what she should wear, what would be good conversation starters, things like that. I found it adorable that she was this nervous. She was bouncing around the locker room all day, I hoped she didn't act this over the top during the date.

Roman and I now had a system to get alone time during the day. We would go sit in a random section of seats in the arena, just so we could have a half hour or an hour to ourselves with our crazy schedules.  
"So is Seth excited about tonight?" I asked hesitantly, afraid of Roman's answer.  
"Yeah, he actually seems interested in Emma."  
I sighed out of relief, "I have never seen her more excited. Well, maybe when she got the call-up to the main roster, but other than that, never."

Roman started laughing, "I honestly can't see why anyone would be that excited over HIM, but whatever floats her boat I suppose," he continued laughing.

For the next forty-five minutes we sat and talked about RAW tonight, the date after, and we were beginning to talk about our day off this week, when my phone beeped.

_Get to Vince's office IMMEDIATELY. _I read the text from my dad over and over again, my heart beating super quick in my chest. Roman put his arm around me to calm me down, but it didn't work.  
"It'll be fine…" he reassured me. I knew he was lying, I could tell in his uneasy tone that he was just as nervous as me. I ran through every possible scenario in my head. I was never late, I worked my ass off everywhere I was, and I didn't take a day off. I began to wonder if my relationship with Roman had anything to do with it.  
Before I knew it we were in front of Vince's office. "I'll be right out here, I promise," Roman said, kissing me before pushing me lightly towards the door.

I took a deep breath and turned the doorknob. When I pushed the door open I saw Vince, Stephanie, Hunter, my dad, and other top executives sitting at a table. Nobody said a word as I walked to the empty chair. The room was so silent I was sure that everyone could hear my heart beating. I sat down lightly in the chair, trying to calm my shaky hands.  
"Aubree," Vince started. I couldn't detect the mood he was in by his voice, so I became even more nervous. "We know you've been frustrated by not getting used in the past weeks, but we want you to know it has nothing to do with you. Ryan is being punished for his actions," I nodded, wishing he would just get to the point already. "We also know how exhausted you must be, we all know how hard you have been working. It is not an easy task traveling five days a week and only being at home two days, but you sacrifice your days off to continue to learn at NXT," I was nodding along with everything he said. "Do you happen to have your ring gear here tonight?"  
I nodded again.  
"How would you like to make your in-ring debut tonight?" Vince asked me.  
At first I was in complete shock and couldn't move. I couldn't even process what he had just said. "Wait… Are you serious?!" I practically yelled.  
"Of course we are, sweetheart. We have all taken great note on your matches at NXT. You are completely ready for this, we are sure of it." Stephanie said.  
"But, I'm not 21…"  
"Well neither was JoJo, was she?" Hunter said, laughing slightly.  
I jumped up and started squealing. I jumped around the room, which I knew was unprofessional, but I didn't care in this moment. I continued squealing as I ran around hugging everyone that was in the room. I thanked everyone dozens of times. Vince told me that I was excused and I ran out of the office. When I opened the door, Roman was leaning against the wall with a huge grin on his face. I ran and jumped on him wrapping my legs around his waist. He embraced me in one of his huge hugs and spun me around. "I'm so proud of you, baby," Roman told me, before kissing me. He finally set me down.  
"Roman, I'm so excited. This is what I've been working so hard for!"  
"I know. You're going to be great! I can't wait to watch my girl debut," he said.

Roman and I walked to catering, excited to tell Emma the great news. She was sitting at a table with Summer when I ran over to them.  
"Guess who gets to debut tonight!" I said, accidentally interrupting their conversation. They both squealed out of excitement for me, when I heard a scoff come from behind me.  
"Of course _she_ gets to debut. It only makes sense that she hasn't been relevant for over a month, then once everyone knows she's dating Roman, she gets to debut in a match, _imagine that,"_ Nikki's loud voice turned everyone's attention to us, which pissed me off.

I stood up and got face to face with her, "Yeah, Nikki, cause you have room to talk. You left WWE, and you only came back because you're dating Cena. Without him and your reality show, you're nothing."  
Nikki was shocked that I talked back to her, then I could see the rage come through her eyes. "Oh really? You're pissed off cause you're not a star. I'm a star diva, a reality star, soon to be movie star, I'm just a star. And you couldn't even handle a valet gig, nice try though,"  
"Maybe because to me it's not about how famous I can get, or how many followers I have on twitter. I'm here because I want to be a wrestler, you're here for a paycheck and the spotlight."

Nikki pulled her hand back and slapped my face. Before I could return the slap, I felt Roman's arms pulling me back from her. I was kicking and swinging my arms, trying to get free of his grip, but it was impossible. He dragged me out of catering before I could get my hands on Nikki. I was beyond pissed now. Once Roman got me out of catering, he put me down and blocked me in against the wall.  
"She is nothing. Ignore her," he said, he sounded caring, but also said it sternly.  
"But I-"  
Roman interrupted me before I could say anything else, "She is nothing. Ignore it."  
I slid down the wall and pouted. Roman sat down next to me, not saying anything. I twiddled my thumbs briefly, before looking up and seeing my dad standing there looking down at us.  
"Back to Vince's office, Aubree. Now," was all he said before walking away.

I sighed heavily and stood up. Because of Nikki, I was probably going to get my match taken away from me tonight. I sulked the whole way down the corridor. I reached the office and pushed the door open and saw Nikki already sitting at the table, looking annoyed that she was called in.  
I sat in a chair as far away from Nikki as possible, avoiding looking at her.  
"So, who wants to tell me what happened?" Hunter spoke loudly, I could tell just how pissed he was in that short sentence.  
I began to speak up, but was cut off by Nikki, "She walked into catering running her mouth how she was the best and that she should've debuted months ago, then when I walked up to her she told me I was a bitch and shoved me. I slapped her out of self-defense."  
"THAT'S A FUCKING LIE. THAT IS THE MOST BULLSHIT STORY I'VE EVER HEARD!" I screamed across the table. I felt Hunter putting his hand on my shoulder, in attempt to calm me down, but I wasn't calming down. I was pissed that she had the balls to lie to everyone, thinking she could get away with it.  
"Aubree… Would you like to tell your side of the story?" Stephanie asked across the table.  
I began to explain what actually happened, trying to keep my temper under control. Nikki sat cross-armed across the table, glaring at me. I still wish I knew what I did to have her hate me so much. Stephanie, Hunter, and Vince listened carefully to everything I said. "You can ask anyone that was in catering when it happened, they'll tell you the real story," I added at the end. Obviously Nikki's closest friends would defend her and her lies, but I hoped they understood that I was the one telling them the truth.  
"Well, the people we have talked too saw what happened and everything matches what Aubree said, so Nikki you are getting pulled from the show tonight," Stephanie told her.

Nikki slammed her hands on the table, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? THIS ISN'T FAIR!" she yelled.  
Stephanie shrugged and dismissed us. Thank God I knew I wasn't going to be fighting Nikki tonight.

Later on in the day I found out that I was going to be in a six-diva tag team match. I was teaming with AJ and Tamina and we were facing Natalya, Cameron, and Naomi. I was happy being a heel on television, because I felt it was easier to get the crowd against you, rather than cheering for you. I got my hair and makeup done by the makeup artist and squeezed into my attire, making last minute adjustments with the seamstress. I was getting extremely nervous about the debut, but I knew in my mind I was ready.  
Around 9:15 I made my way to gorilla position with AJ and Tamina. They were both running through all the scenarios that could happen during the match and telling me not to panic if we missed a spot. I trusted the older girls completely and I was starting to relax. We walked behind the curtain and saw the opposing team. Nattie greeted us all with a hug and a huge smile on her face. We heard Natalya's music hit and she disappeared into the crowd. About a minute later Naomi and Cameron's music played, they left. AJ and Tamina were next. I was "the mystery teammate" that the announcers had been hyping up all night, so I got to go by myself.

_Let's light it up, light it up light it up light it tonight, _AJ's music blared. She tossed the title over her shoulder and skipped out onto the stage. I heard the crowd, which increased my heart rate. Suddenly her music stopped and I heard Justin Roberts' voice, "and their tag team partner, from San Bernardino, California, Aubree Laurinaitis!" My NXT music hit and I slowly made my way out to the ring. I flipped my hair around, waving off the fans, all the typical heel moves. I slowly went through the ropes, going straight to my team.  
The match went fast, really fast. I got to start it off, facing Nattie, which was an honor. I was in the ring for under three minutes and got put in the sharpshooter. I escaped the submission, leaping and tagging Tamina in. Tamina did all the hard-hitting against Cameron, then tagged in AJ to do her signature move, The Black Widow, and have Cameron tap out for us to get the win. We celebrated in the ring, before turning and attacking the other team. After a few minutes of attacking the other team, refs flooded from the back and pulled us apart. We made our way back up the ramp, with smirks on our faces.

I was still on my high from my debut all throughout the night and the double date had completely slipped my mind. After RAW was over, I met Emma in the parking lot. Instead of her usual yoga pants and hoodie traveling outfit, she was wearing a cute sweater with a glitter tank top underneath, with a pair of jeans and boots. She looked nice, then there was me. I found it more comfortable traveling in yoga pants and t-shirts, so I felt underdressed.  
"Hey Aubree!" she practically yelled in her adorable Australian accent. I approached her and said hello, scanning the parking lot for Roman and Seth. I heard the fans by the gate screaming, so I turned around and saw them stopped with fans, signing autographs and taking pictures. The car we had had tinted windows, luckily, so Emma and I squeezed in the back seat so the fans wouldn't see us getting in the same car as them. Somehow Roman and I have kept our relationship completely private and fans had no idea.

Roman and Seth started the car and pulled out of the parking lot before they said anything to us. "So, where do you two want to eat?" Roman asked, glancing back at us in the rearview mirror.  
"Emma, you can pick," I told her.  
"Oh, uhm, I don't really know anywhere around here…" she started. I glanced at her, silently telling her to decide. "We could just go to Outback," she said, pointing to an exit sign with the Outback Steakhouse logo showing.  
Roman chuckled, "the Aussie would pick Outback," he said, taking the exit. Luckily it was still opened, even though it was late. We walked into the mostly empty restaurant. There were four middle-aged men sitting at the bar and only a few tables occupied. We got seated in a normal-sized booth, Emma and Seth sitting on one side, Roman and I on the other.  
We had just gotten our food when one of the guys from the bar recognized us. "My daughter loves The Shield!" he said obnoxiously, drawing attention to us, "Can I have an autograph from y'all? And a picture too?" Everyone still there looked at us. Roman and Seth signed a napkin, then the guy turned his attention to Emma and I, "You look familiar," he said, "Are y'all divas?" We nodded. Then he asked for a group picture. That's when I knew we were screwed. He would show his teenage daughter, then it would end up all over social media, exposing everything.  
Once we were left alone again, Emma and Seth were completely focused on each other. Seth seemed really into Emma, which was great. We finished eating and got back into the car. Roman was driving and I sat shotgun, leaving Emma and Seth in the back. I glanced back at one point and saw Emma's head on Seth's shoulder and she was sound asleep. Seth saw me look at them and he just smiled at me, then wrapped his arm around Emma even tighter.


	10. Chapter 10- TotalDivas

Once we finally reached our hotel, Emma was wide awake. She and I shared a room tonight, while Roman and Seth were down the hall. Once we got checked in and said our goodnights, she ran into our room and began jumping on her bed. She was jumping around like a thirteen year old girl. I wasn't even aware that she had developed such a crush on Seth, but she definitely had. She went on and on for a good hour about everything that I was there to witness. I smiled and listened to everything, seeing as she listened to everything about Roman with no complaints.  
Finally she fell asleep, mid-conversation. In a way, I was grateful for the peace and quiet. I was extremely happy for my best friend, but I didn't want her to get her hopes too high, just in case Seth didn't feel exactly the same way.

The minute Emma woke up, she was talking about Seth again. She was so excited to go to the gym with him today, she was so excited to ride to the arena, and she was so excited to travel with him again tonight. I didn't have the heart to tell her I hadn't asked Roman the plans for tonight. I'm sure he wouldn't care, but it was Seth I was worried about. I had seem Emma in previous relationships, but she was never this crazy about someone, someone she wasn't even dating yet.  
"I… haven't exactly asked Roman what tonight's plans are…" I said cautiously.  
"Oh it's fine! I just kinda figured…" I could hear her tone flattening, like I had just sucked all the air out of her.  
"Em… Do you think you're falling too hard too fast?"  
"No.. Okay maybe a little. I don't know, okay?! I really like him. Last night was perfect! He's a gentleman, he's funny, charismatic, adorable, I don't know Aubree, he's just great!"  
I was speechless. She really was head over heels for him now. "I'll go talk to Roman now, okay? Just get ready for the gym."  
When I got to Roman and Seth's room I could hear music playing, which was a good sign because that meant they were both awake. I knocked and Seth answered quickly.  
"Hey! Come on in!" he sounded more cheerful than usual. I walked in and saw Roman standing in a towel.  
"Hey handsome," I walked over, giving Roman a kiss and hugging him.  
"Well this just got a little weird," Seth said, slowly slipping into the bathroom and shutting the door. I sat back on Roman's bed while he pulled shorts on.  
"We need to talk," I whispered to him, hoping Seth wasn't listening through the door. Roman looked concerned. "It's about Emma," I said even softer. His face relaxed and he nodded.  
"We'll talk on our way to the gym," he said. Minutes later Emma knocked and Seth answered it again. She bounced her way into the room. Her onscreen character was so similar to her in real life, it was scary. She was so bubbly and happy all the time, it was uplifting to be around her.  
"You guys ready to go?" Seth asked us, picking up his water bottle and keys, making his way to the door.  
"I think we're going to do a mini pre-workout, if you know what I mean," Roman winked, "we'll catch up with you soon!" Seth got the hint and left with Emma. "So, what did you want to talk about?" he asked sitting next to me when they left.  
"Emma is _really_ falling for him," I told him. Then I went on to explain everything about last night and this morning. "Does he feel the same way?"  
He chuckled, "Yeah, he really likes her, but wasn't sure if she felt the same."  
"THIS IS GREAT!" I yelled. I heard the keycard being slid into the door and immediately got nervous. Seth pushed open the door, covering his eyes with his hands.  
"Whatever is great, I don't want to know. I need my phone then I'll leave," Seth fumbled around the room for a minute before he found his phone on the television stand.  
"We're dressed man, you can uncover your eyes," Roman told him. Seth sighed a sigh of relief and removed his hand.  
"Damn, I didn't realize you couldn't last that long," Seth said, shrugging and turning to leave.  
"Shut up Seth. We didn't do anything, we were talking."  
"Mhm." Seth said, nodding and leaving. Roman and I stood up, following behind, ready to get in an actual workout.

I got to have a match on SmackDown. This time it was a singles match versus Natalya, with AJ and Tamina at ringside for me, and Naomi and Cameron cheering on Nattie. The match was great back and forth, until Nattie put me in a sharpshooter. Once it was locked in and I was about to tap, Tamina came in and delivered a super-kick to Nattie. Once again, a full out brawl occurred in the ring. Tonight though, the team of Cameron, Naomi, and Natalya were chased out of the ring. I was loving teaming with Tamina and AJ because they were such great mentors and knew so much about the business. They had given me more guidance about how to get the crowd interested in the match and just little things to do that would make the match go more smoothly. Everything they told me made sense and worked in ring, so it was great to just be around them and absorb the knowledge.  
After I got backstage, I took a quick shower, then decided to go find Roman. We weren't traveling anywhere tonight, because we were flying back to Orlando in the morning. I wanted to talk about plans for our days off, because we would finally get two whole days off and alone. All I wanted to do was go to Disney, hoping he would want to go too. After ten minutes of searching for him, I couldn't find him anywhere. I called him and it went straight to voicemail. I knew he was done wrestling for the night, so I became worried.  
Every time I asked someone if they had seen him, they just shrugged and said not recently. I had gone from worried to annoyed quickly. I knocked on the guy's locker room and was face to face with Ryan for the first time since the huge fight.  
"What?" was all he said.  
"Um… Is Roman in here?" I tried to cover the shakiness in my voice.  
"Nope." The door was slammed in my face.  
I continued walking around backstage, checking everywhere. I called, got voicemail. Text him, no reply. I was beyond frustrated at this point. Emma had just finished her segment with Santino and was walking backstage when I grabbed her arm. "Have you seen Roman?" I asked, annoyance filling my voice.  
"No, Santino have you?" Santino shook his head no, "Shit, let's go find him," Emma said.  
We checked every closet, bathroom, dressing room, office, etc. backstage. "Emma, let's go over there and check it out," I pointed to the section behind the makeup station.  
The first thing I saw was bright red hair, obviously being Eva Marie leaning against the wall, then I saw the cameras. I scanned around the room and then I saw it. _Roman. Summer. Making out. Touching each other everywhere. _Then I saw Nikki nudge Brie and point towards me, smirking. Tears began stinging my eyes. Summer was supposed to be my friend. How could she do that to me? Summer kept fidgeting with Roman's ring gear vest, then I heard her say, "Let's go finish this at the hotel," grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the door they were near, the cameras following them.  
"Let's get out of here," Emma said, placing her hand on my back, turning us away from the scene. We walked back to the diva's locker room to retrieve our stuff. Normally we aren't allowed to leave the arena until the taping is over, but I needed to get out of here immediately.  
_Dad, Emma is driving me to the hotel right now. Think I caught a virus. Puked twice after match. Don't want to get everyone else sick. Sorry. _ I clicked send on the text to my dad and grabbed my bags and went to the car. We weaved our way in between the rental cars in the parking lot, trying to find our red Ford rental. Roman and Seth were supposed to ride with us, but there was no way in hell I was allowing that to happen now. Emma began driving and I took her phone and text Seth.  
_Sorry we left the arena already. You and Roman have to find another ride._ Was all I sent.  
The phone almost instantly had a reply from Seth and all it said was _?_  
I replied _will talk later. _And put Emma's phone on do not disturb mode. She knew I was texting him, so it wasn't me being a bitch.  
"Do you wanna stop somewhere quickly? I'll run in and get you whatever if you don't feel like going in." Emma asked me. We were passing fast food places, supermarkets, but nothing was appealing to me.  
"No, thank you though. You can stop though, if you're hungry," I replied dully, staring out the window. I couldn't get the image out of my head. Why would Summer do that? She was one of my closest friends.  
Emma took the next exit and went through a Wendy's drive-thru. She ordered me an order of French fries, even though I said I didn't want anything. We drove back to the hotel in silence.  
As soon as we checked in, I got on my laptop, seeing if there were any flights out of Indianapolis to Orlando tonight. Sadly they were all booked. I knew my ticket for tomorrow's plane ride was seated right next to Roman, so I was definitely not going.  
"Em! Know what we should do?"  
"Hmm?" she was obviously only half paying attention to me.  
"We should fly somewhere else. Let's not go back to Orlando tomorrow! Let's go to Vegas… no wait I'm not 21… How about LA? We could search for Bradley Cooper! We could go to Disneyland out there in California! We could go anywhere in the world!"  
"Aubree… I know right now you're really upset, but maybe it's not the best idea. Go back to your place, get some rest, talk to him. I know that's not what you wanna hear, but it's for the best."  
I heard what she was saying. She was right. I didn't wanna hear that. Why was she telling me to talk it out with him? She was supposed to be on my side. "So, am I getting one ticket or two?" I asked her, already having a flight from Indianapolis to LAX pulled up.  
She sighed loudly, "Two."

We landed in Los Angeles at 12:30 and when I turned my phone on it had 27 missed calls and 59 texts. Most of them from Roman, some from my dad. I deleted Roman's texts without reading them, which left 4 texts from my dad. They asked where I was, why I wasn't at the airport, if I was really sick, and if I was okay. I replied back that I was fine and I would talk to him later.  
Emma showed me her phone. Seth blew her phone up with questions about where she was and why she didn't meet him at the airport this morning. I didn't want her to ruin a possible relationship with him because of me, so I told her to tell him she was sorry and that she was taking a girl weekend.  
We spent our day in LA sight-seeing and shopping. We were spotted by fans a few times, but luckily people were too occupied searching for Miley and Justin Bieber. We strolled up and down the streets, in and out of stores, shopping and gossiping, trying to keep my mind off of Roman. My phone kept vibrating in my pocket, but I didn't even look at it, knowing it was Roman.  
Emma and I finally sat down at a restaurant for dinner in the evening. I left my phone away while she played on hers. Her jaw dropped and eyes got big.  
"Emma, what is it?"  
"Four hours ago Nikki tweeted, _karma's a you-know-what ;) xoxo N #totaldivas #itgotreal_"  
Infuriated I grabbed the phone out of her hands and read the post over and over. I went to Summer's twitter and saw that she retweeted it, then replied. She posted _what can I say? I love bad boys ;) #totaldivas._  
I felt my throat tightening and my eyes burning again. "Em, can we just leave?" A tear spilled over and ran down my cheek.  
"Yeah, come on." We paid the bill and left the restaurant and went back to our hotel.


	11. Chapter 11- Just Need Time

Luckily for me, I was not on the same circuit for the weekend as Roman. I had thought about asking for the weekend off, but I decided it would not be a smart career move. I had just started having matches and I didn't want to ruin any possible future plans. Emma was with me, which I was happy about. Roman had continued to call and text me, but I couldn't bring myself to answer. I knew he had been having Seth ask Emma, but she wouldn't talk to him about me.  
Emma and I flew out of Los Angeles Friday morning and flew to Dallas, Texas. I knew the other house show circuit was in Alabama, so I would have until at least Sunday at the pay-per-view before I saw Roman. I knew there was going to be a huge altercation there, which worried me. The last time there was a blowout at work, I wasn't used on television for over a month. 

Friday and Saturday flew by, I got to team with AJ and Tamina both nights, facing Nikki, Brie and Natalya. AJ and Tamina would not tag me into the ring while Nikki was in, obviously knowing about all the issues between us. Lately, I had been wrestling with more aggression and ruthlessness, which got noticed by the fans. I felt like I was beginning to make a major impact on the diva's division. I was seeing more signs for me and I was getting a great reaction from the crowd. One night I was going through my Twitter mentions and saw people had started calling me "The Queen of Mean". I thought it was cool that the fans had already made such a connection with me, even more so than the connection from NXT.  
Nikki got the pin-fall win over AJ to end the match both nights. After the matches, Tamina would pick AJ up and carry her backstage over her shoulder, while I would carry out AJ's title belt. Holding it and looking at the crowd lit a fire in me to get to the position I could be the champion. I hoped I would be able to win it off AJ, to be able to be the one who finally broke her championship reign, although it was unlikely I would get it that soon. Right now I was just enjoying the stable of AJ, Tamina, and I.

When I woke up Sunday morning I was feeling sick and nauseated and I didn't want to get out of bed.  
"Aubree, let's go we have to work out," Emma grabbed my arm, trying to drag me out of bed.  
"I don't wanna go!" I whined. She kept pulling. "We might run into _him,"_ I added emphasis on the word him.  
"Well you're going to see him at some point today, so you might as well deal with it."  
"Emma no! I'm not going to the gym!" I yelled at her. I didn't mean to have my voice sound so harsh, but I couldn't help it. I was so stressed about tonight, I didn't want to think of seeing him, or even leaving the hotel today.  
"Fuck you too, then," Emma said, grabbing her belongings and leaving for the gym.  
Once she was gone, I made sure every single lock on the door was latched, just in case a crazy murderer, or Roman, tried getting in the room. I laid back on my bed, dreading today. I knew I had to go to the arena because I was going to the ring with AJ and Tamina for AJ's title defense on the pay-per-view, but I wished that I didn't have to see Roman.

I stared at the arena for ten minutes before taking my seatbelt off and getting out of the car. I felt like my heart was going to explode in my chest. I saw fans lined up against the fence and Emma nudged me, "Are you ready yet?" She sounded annoyed. I nodded and got out. We walked to the trunk of the car and got our suitcases. We took pictures with fans before entering the back door of the arena. I saw the usual rush of people running around the backstage areas. I scanned the room, looking for Roman, when I didn't see him I hurriedly sped-walked to the locker room.  
Emma and I were the last ones there. Everyone got extremely quiet as we walked to the open part of the bench. Emma said hi to people, but I kept my head down. I knew everybody knew. Summer was sitting next to Nikki on the bench. I set my stuff down and left the locker room. I found a small janitors closet two doors down. I turned on the light, locked the door, and began to weep. My sobs were uncontrollable and tears streamed down my face. I muffled the sound by biting my shirt, I didn't want anyone finding me.  
I wasted over an hour and a half in that closet crying. I knew I needed to leave to get ready, but every time I stood up, I felt weaker than before and cried more. I finally wiped all my tears away and composed myself. I slowly left the closet, making sure I wasn't seen, then went to the makeup station.  
Walking down the hallway I ran into Justin Gabriel, "Damn, Aubree, what happened to you?" he said. I could tell by his voice, he genuinely had no idea about Roman.  
"Oh, uh… I… Sick. Yup, I'm sick," I said. Damn, I was bad at lying.  
"I know we don't know each other that well… But if you want to talk to someone, I'm around, usually not doing much," he chuckled slightly, "No judgment here."  
I thanked him and continued walking to the makeup station. When I got there I saw Emma sitting there, eyes closed.  
The makeup artist glanced at me, "Holy hell, Aubree. Have you slept lately?" she questioned.  
"Not much," I told her.  
She finished Emma's makeup and sat me down in the chair. "Oh boy, we have some work to do." _Wow, thanks. Reaaaal confidence booster,_ I thought to myself. She handed me a bottle of eye-drops, "Three in each eye. The redness will fade. We are on HDTV tonight," she laughed, I'm not sure why. I didn't think it was funny.  
She did my makeup quickly, but the puffiness in my eyes was mostly covered by a load of makeup.  
"Where the fuck were you?" Emma asked me as soon as we walked away.  
"I needed time by myself."  
"Aubree, I love you but you need to get your shit together. We are at work. You need to be professional."  
I stared at her astonished for a minute. "Excuse me? I am being professional. I am avoiding an issue. AVOIDING IT. It would be unprofessional if I was around him and we got into a fight. I am avoiding the people that are a part of this, okay. Sorry if you think that's unprofessional," I started walking away from her, but I heard her footsteps following me.  
"Listen, I talked to Seth and-" she started before I cut her off.  
"You talked to Seth? About me? Save it Emma. I know you're going to take his side just fucking because you're obsessed with him."  
I knew that was harsh, I knew I didn't mean what I said, but I was so irritated with everyone right now, I didn't want to hear anyone's opinions that weren't the same as mine.  
"I'm not obsessed with him. But maybe, just maybe, you should think about talking to Roman. That's all I'm saying." She turned and walked the opposite way.  
I felt embarrassed. I just said horrible things to the one person that was there for me. I wanted to apologize, but for some reason my feet felt glued to where I was standing. I mentally kept telling myself to follow her and apologize, but I couldn't. I didn't move.  
I stared at the floor while leaning against the wall when I checked the time. It was 7:00 and I decided I needed to get ready because AJ's match was second on the card. When I began walking down the hall, I looked up and saw Roman walking towards me. _Shit shit mother fucking shit_ I thought to myself. I couldn't turn around and go the other way, I knew he'd follow.  
"Aubree…" he approached me with caution, his voice soft. He sounded so hurt, I felt a pain in my chest. _Aubree do not feel bad for him. He's a cheating asshole,_ I kept telling myself.  
"I don't have time for this," I tried maneuvering around him, but his long limbs made it easy to trap me.  
"Aubree, we need to fucking talk," now he sounded annoyed.  
"I don't need to talk to you, get the fuck away from me."  
"Just let me explain what happened!" He raised his voice at me.  
"I saw all there was to see. I don't need a watered down version from you," I shoved him and ducked past him.  
I felt his strong hands grab my forearm, "Aubree, it meant nothing. It was for Total Divas,"  
"I don't care what it was for, Roman. You kissed Summer. You left with her. It's done."  
"I didn't leave with her, we walked to the car with the cameras following us, they called cut and it was over. It was for a storyline on the show," He explained it, but to me it made no sense.  
"There are fifty other superstars they could've, SHOULD'VE used. Why would they pick someone that has a girlfriend? Roman, you're making no sense. Leave me alone, I need to get ready," I tried walking away again.  
"Listen, all I know is that the production team for Total Divas came up to me and told me Vince wanted to use me. I don't know why, but I wasn't questioning the boss. Aubree, please, I love you. This week has been hell without you,"  
"Good," was all I said, before shoving past him for the last time and walking to the locker room.

I couldn't focus the rest of the night. Nikki was finally getting her shot for the Diva's Championship on the pay-per-view, but she wasn't set to win. The plan was for me to pull her feet out from under her when she was against the ropes and drag her out of the ring. Tamina and I would attack her, then Brie would rescue her. I was satisfied. AJ would keep her title, I would get my hands on Nikki, and I'd get to let some aggression out. As good as it felt to get my hands on Nikki, my heart wasn't in it and I just wanted it to end.

We eventually retreated backstage, after what seemed like we were out there for an hour and I saw Roman standing right outside gorilla.

"Seriously, stop following me," I pushed him backwards.

"Aubree, please," he begged.

I pushed him again. "Nope."

He grabbed my arm, like he did earlier. "Aubree, seriously just fucking listen to me," his voice was annoyed. I could tell he was losing his patience.

"Leave. Me. Alone." I was just trying to get my point across, yet he was squeezing my forearm harder now. I winced in pain, but he didn't let up.

"Aubree, baby girl, I love you. You have to believe me. I promise you, I only went along with it because the producers said Vince wanted me to."

"Ugh," I wanted to believe him, but at the same time I wanted to punch him in the face. "Roman… Please just give me time. I just need time," I said sadly, then just walked.


	12. Chapter 12- Justin

A month had passed and I hadn't talked to Roman. They say time heals all wounds, but it hasn't in my case. Every time I pass him backstage, my heart sinks. I love him, but I find it hard to trust him again. Luckily for me, I was still involved with AJ and Tamina on screen and during house shows. I'd been traveling with AJ mostly, because Seth and Emma had started traveling with each other more and more. Emma and Seth were now dating and I couldn't be happier for them.

I had been wanting to talk to Roman, but I couldn't. Every time I prepared myself to, I would wimp out before I could. I hated that it was so hard for me to trust people, but I had been used and hurt too many times before.

Roman had finally stopped trying to start a conversation first. For the first two weeks, every time he saw me he would try to make small talk. I would give him short answers, he eventually got the hint that I needed more space.

On a Monday, Summer approached me in the locker room. I did not feel like dealing with her, but she was being persistent.

"Aubree, I'm so sorry for what I did. It wasn't right. I shouldn't have gone along with ." I heard the locker room door open, but I ignored it.

"No shit, Summer. It's been over a fucking month and you are _just now_ apologizing? I honestly considered you one of my best friends and you pull this? I'm furious at you and personally want nothing to do with you," I said, trying to control my anger.

I went to walk away and she stopped me, "Why the hell are you mad at me? It was him instigating it."

"Fuck off," I tried shoving past her, but she blocked me in.

"Stop being a bitch. It isn't my fault I'm a blonde bombshell," she flipped her hair over her shoulder.

I pushed her back as hard as I could and she stumbled into the lockers. "Seriously Summer, you're a bitch. I can't believe I ever trusted you. You are dead to me," I watched as she rubbed the back of her head. I looked and finally noticed the camera crews zooming in on her sitting on the bench.

One of the men whispered something to her and before I knew it, Summer had shoved me to the ground and was yanking my hair. She was screeching and yelling at me, banging my head off the floor. I fought back, slapping her and flipping us so I was the one pulling her hair. The battle went back and forth for a few minutes, before Eva Marie came running in and pulled her off me. Eva was making sure Summer was okay, then they left. The cameras got a shot of me, then they left to follow them.

I was pissed. Completely pissed. Summer had completely changed since signing onto do Total Divas. She used to be my friend, but lately fame had gotten to her.

I left the locker room, still pissed, wanting to go talk to Roman. I found him quickly and dragged him into a closet. "Ready for that make-up sex yet?" he joked.

"Roman, no. This is serious. I need to know exactly what happened with Summer. From beginning to end."

Roman began explaining. He said one of the producers went to him directly and said Vince wanted him to be featured on the show since he was in line for a major push. Apparently Vince thought it would help the fans connect with him more.

"I can't see Vince caring that much about who is involved on Total Divas as a love interest, especially when he knows you have a girlfriend."

Roman shrugged, "Aubree, I seriously don't know. I'm sorry. I have to go," he pushed the door open and retreated back to the men's locker room.

I stood in shock, not knowing what to do. I went and sat in catering when I saw Stephanie getting a meal. It was now or never. I got up and followed her to the table. "Steph, can we talk?" I asked timidly. I knew her basically my whole life, but I still got nervous around her.

"Absolutely, dear. Sit, sit," she said, cheerfully.

"Okay, I don't want to come across as unprofessional or anything, but did Vince want Roman on Total Divas as a love interest for Summer?" She looked puzzled. I explained everything to her the way Roman had explained it.

"Oh, no," she sounded worried. "Vince doesn't really get involved with that stuff. He was involved with picking the divas, but not everything that goes on for episodes."

I was getting angrier about what had happened. "I bet Nikki had something to do with it," I didn't mean to say it out loud, but it slipped.

Stephanie looked concerned, "I don't think she would do that, Aubree, honestly."

"I wouldn't put it past her. I saw how she was looking at me when it happened. She hates me."

"I'll go to the producers, okay?" I nodded and let Stephanie finish her meal in peace.

Stephanie came to me with the information that it was Nikki who started the storyline idea. She lied to the producers about having Vince's approval and Nikki would be punished. I was still pissed. Stephanie also informed me that since the whole thing played out so well on film, they would be using it. I wasn't happy about that, but there was nothing I could do.

After talking to Stephanie, I knew I had to go to Roman. I searched the halls up and down but I couldn't find him anywhere. I paced around backstage looking, getting impatient. I saw Eva and she approached me.

"Girl, I'm sorry about what happened earlier with Summer," her voice sounded insincere.

"Save it, you're just as involved as she is," I pushed past her.

"Wait, Aubree! You can't go in the locker room!" she yelled at me, grabbing at my arm.

I could tell now she was stalling, trying to hide something. I got out of her hold on my arm and pushed the door open. When I opened the door I saw three guys in all black holding cameras. Typical. Fucking Total Divas was filming. I squeezed between the crew members and saw Summer straddling Roman on the bench. He was on his back, not moving much. Summer was in her ring gear and trying to get Roman out of his. She was kissing all over his neck.

"SUMMER WHAT THE FUCK?" I yelled, storming across the room. I grabbed her by her shoulders and threw her down to the floor. Roman jumped up, fidgeting with his hair.

Summer smirked at me, then glanced at Roman. He didn't say anything, he just sat there. "I AM SO SICK AND TIRED OF BOTH OF YOU!" I glared at Roman, tears burning my eyes. I ran out of the locker room and noticed one of the camera-men was following me. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" I yelled at the man following me. He didn't stop. I stormed to the bathroom and slammed the stall. I sat on the toilet and cried until the man left.

Things with Emma weren't the same since her and Seth began dating. I didn't have Roman anymore. Summer had completely betrayed me. AJ was always traveling with CM Punk and Tamina was always with Vickie Guerrero on the road. And all my other close friends were still in NXT. I felt so alone. I had nobody to travel with, workout with, or just talk to about everything. On my off days, I didn't leave my apartment. I laid in my bed for over half the day. I didn't even want to leave to go back to work.

The two days passed and I knew it was time to go to the airport to fly out for the house shows. I had nobody to travel with, so I decided I'd go alone. I rented the car by myself, got hotels by myself. After all the money I paid, I realized why it's so beneficial to have friends.

I had kept to myself the entire day leading up till the house show started. I was sitting in catering at the table in the corner, playing candy crush when I heard a familiar accent.

"Hey there, pretty girl. What're you doing all alone?" I looked up and saw Justin Gabriel standing over me, grinning.

"Being the loner that I am. It's easier that way," I mumbled.

He didn't hesitate before pulling a chair up, "You aren't a loner!"

"Oh, really? Look at all the friends I have," I said sarcastically.

"What happened anyway? With everything?"

"I don't feel like getting into it right now." He didn't say anything, he just stared.

"Fine, you can tell me all about it tonight on our way to Oregon." I gave him a confused look. "I'm not letting you travel alone. Friends don't let friends take road trips by themselves!"

The ride with Justin was way more fun than I expected. He sang every song on the radio at the top of his lungs. Conversation came so natural with him, it was refreshing.

"So, when do you plan on telling me what happened?" He said, during a commercial break on the radio.

"Never."

"You have to tell me! It's friend code."

"Do you have this friend code book handy? I would love to see where it explains that I have too."

He gave me a puppy-dog look, like I had hurt his feelings.

"Fine.. I'll tell you," I explained everything. From the beginning I told him about the cheating, lies about Total Divas, Nikki hating me for no reason, I am pretty sure I overwhelmed him with the story of my life.

He never interrupted me, he listened very intently. Every so often he would nod or say one word phrases. I finally finished the story and I couldn't help but crying. Justin rested his hand on my thigh and squeezed it. It was comforting. I closed my eyes, trying to stop the tears.

"He's not worth it, I promise," Justin finally said.

I couldn't speak. I didn't want to. He left his hand there, but focusing on the road. I felt comfortable around Justin, just like I used to with Roman. I knew this weekend would be better if I had Justin around.


End file.
